We’ve had our cow share for two weeks, and already we’ve had to purchase a second share. I’m curious how long we’ll last on two gallons of milk per week. I made two loaves of whole wheat bread today, and a small amount of homemade butter. Yummy! Tomorrow, I’m going to attempt to make yogurt. I haven’t gotten ambitious enough to try to make cheese yet.

I’ve been taking the cream from the top of our milk and using it for ice cream, butter, and to flavor our coffee. It works well, but it leaves us with less milk to drink. The farm has recently started offering individual containers of cream. It’s thick, like paste. I may try a pint of it just to see what kind of results I get with my butter.

We bought a cow share last night. That means we own part of a cow, and that means we’re entitled to a portion of the milk each week. Raw milk, YUM! I already know one share won’t be enough for us. I’m guessing we’ll end up buying a second, and possibly third share in a couple weeks.

The boys enjoyed the farm experience. I think I might have enjoyed it even more than they did. We bought a dozen eggs while we were there, so it’s “chicken eggs” and “cow milk” for breakfast this morning. (The boys have already learned the difference between “cow milk” and the store bought stuff.) We made a pint of vanilla ice cream last night, and we’ll probably attempt to make a small bit of butter this morning.

Rob and I have taken the boys to see all three Three openings this year. Spiderman was a midnight show, while both Shrek and Pirates were 10 pm shows. Ah, the benefits of homeschooling. In case you care, Spiderman was as cheesy as we anticipated, Shrek was disappointing, and Pirates was better than expected.

The boys have been enjoying their first season of baseball despite the teams being heavily unbalanced within their league. The unbalance is one of the things I find frustrating about our first baseball experience. There are also a lot of strange rules which aren’t followed consistently. I’m looking forward to them moving up to the next league next year (assuming we’re still living here).

There’s still no word on when or where we are relocating. Nothing more to say about that.

My current clay project is a teapot. I’m actually working on two teapots simultaneously, but one of them is mediocre, and one of them is very good. It’s so good, in fact, that it has pretty much guaranteed my place in the graduate program. Of course, I still need to go through the official application process, but I’ll have a lot more confidence when I apply in the following months.

In Home & Garden news, I’ve completed my bird garden and the birds seem to enjoy it almost as much as I do. Our sub was built in a field, so it feels like a field. There is very little shade around my house. The garden hasn’t provided shade for people, but it makes our yard feel a little less like we’re in a field, and a little more like we’re surrounded by nature.

A last bit of April rain helped the plum tree bloom.

If the trees think it’s safe to bloom, then it’s time for me to put away the header with the snowy sunrise and replace it with something a little more appropriate for Spring.

I should start naming my multiple personalities so people know which one is speaking.

Farmer and Mommy were talking about chickens and babies when Scholar interrupted and brought up the notion of going back to school in pursuit of a Master’s degree. Meanwhile, Kerrie stood by silently listening for the loudest voice. Since Farmer and Mommy had been having their discussion for a while, their voices were tiring. Scholar, however, had not spoken in a very long time, and so her voice was strong and easily heard above the others.

As usual, Kerrie (who apparently has no voice of her own) felt herself being persuaded by the loudest voice. The voice of Reason tried to make Kerrie realize that the uncertainty of Rob’s job and the possibility of a move should outweigh not only the voice of Scholar, but also those of Farmer and Mommy. But Mania, disguised as Reason, sided with Scholar and their combined voices drowned out everyone else.

Kerrie felt overwhelmed and decided to wait for an outside voice to come to her rescue.

…to be continued.

I’ve been very grouchy these past three days. There are a couple things creating a bit of stress for our family right now, and the weather since Thursday hasn’t helped to lift the mood. I’m longing for the sun. I need color and light.

I decided to search my photo archives for something to liven up my site, and came across my collection of sunsets and sunrises. The picture I chose for my current header was taken on December 17, 2004 while waiting with the boys outside for the school bus. It was a very brisk day and we had just enough snow to cover the ground. It’s quite a contrast to this winter’s weather. In October, there were a few scattered snowfalls, but by the time December rolled around, we had nothing. Nearly a full week into January, and we’ve gotten neither snow nor our annual ice storm. When it does precipitate, we get rain–cold, grey rain.

I happen to love clouds. Their color, their texture, even their precipitation. But there needs to be some balance. All clouds and no sun makes for a gloomy day. And a gloomy me. We’re supposed to get some sun tomorrow. I just need enough to clear the fog around my head. For now, the new header on the site will have to do.